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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

according to our community newsletter, there may be a nice coffee shop coming to 3rd and florida. I have heard rumors of another one too, fairly close by. i wonder how many people have plans to have cafes in bloomingdale/eckington? how many could we support? and how many people harbor hopes to open a restaurant or decent bar?

Ella's coffee shop didnt seem to do to well on north capitol. perhaps she jumped the gun, perhaps no one knew whether or not she would be open. for me, it was the expensive sunday brunch, and that 3 times during the day that i went, it was closed for no apparent reason. If Windows cafe had better food, i might go more often. I did buy a bag of some awesome ethiopian coffee there, but, as a vegetarian the grilled cheese option leaves me a bit bored.

I hope that any new cafe/ restaurant owners run their places a little better. We as a neighborhood will go, once we trust them.especially if the coffee isnt burnt.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

The Metropolitan, the former apartment building on Rhode Island Avenue, is now a coop, thanks to DC's right of First Refusal, and the collaboration of the tenants. With so many articles and talk lately of the working poor displaced by gentrification, it is wonderful to read that, as the article makes note of, people living paycheck to paycheck can afford the place that they have already called home for a long time.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Other development is afoot in the neighborhood. The D.C. Council member who represents the area said he is working on a public-private project to turn the city's wholesale market into 23 acres of housing, office and retail at Florida and New York avenues, near the new headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. And a few years ago, the city helped finance a deal that brought a Home Depot and a Giant grocery store to Brentwood, across New York Avenue. But the city's long-term goal to revitalize the New York Avenue corridor has proved elusive.

good news on the affordable housing front, but maybe the market will be throwing cheaper houses at us anyway. Article on cooling market

I'm especially excited about the development of the Florida Avenue Market. The whole area is a fascinating array of buildings and shops, but the market itself is seriously lacking in cleanliness. This area has the potential to be more exciting than eastern market and more vibrant than the Lexington Market in Baltimore.